Giants' pitcher Madison Bumgarner hopes luck is about to change

Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner might be on a tear in the home run department, but he harbors no illusions of becoming a power hitter.

"I'm just getting lucky," said Bumgarner, who hit his third home run of the season (in just 47 plate appearances) on Sunday. "My luck's being used up in the wrong spot — I'm using all my luck up hitting instead of pitching."

He said that he had no intention of lobbying for a spot in the Home Run Derby but Bumgarner the pitcher obviously reaps the benefits of Bumgarner the hitter's success.

"It's always a good thing — it means you're getting a lot of run support," he said. "Then you can afford to make a few mistakes here and there."

Not that he's been making many mistakes. Bumgarner pitched well enough in the first half of the season to be named to his second straight All-Star Game. And for the second straight year, he pitched for the Giants on the Sunday prior to the game, which made him ineligible to pitch on Tuesday night.

"I'd obviously love to get a chance to throw but just to get the recognition and just to be here is enough for me," Bumgarner said. "It's fun getting to talk to the other players that you play against so that's a good part of it, getting to know people. The Home Run Derby's pretty fun to watch, and then the game. Everything — it's a good show."